Project Quality Assurance Practitioner

MASS is a high technology business, operating in the defence, security and education markets. We harness technology to deliver trusted services and solutions that improve the security, efficiency and effectiveness of operations in government, industry and educational establishments. Full life cycle is provided including applied research, consulting, design, development, system integration, support, managed service delivery and training.

Your role is to provide flexible and tailored quality and engineering assurance support in to a diverse range of bids and projects. Based in Lincoln you will support the Business Assurance function in Head Office – Operations (covering Quality, Security and Business Management) which operates across the UK offices in St Neots and Lincoln as well as off-site teams around the UK. You will support continuous improvement of the integrated Business Management System (BMS) to meet business changes.

You will be required to:

• assess contracts received by the Company and liaise with Project Managers and Delivery Leads to ensure that controls are applied to meet the quality requirements of the customer;

• participate in internal governance reviews including chairing Contract Initiation Meetings;

• review and advise on project and engineering management plans, Quality Plans, Configuration Management Plans, Test Plans etc.;

• represent the customer by ensuring that all contract requirements are met e.g. through witnessing tests;

• ensure processes are adhered to;

• assess the effectiveness of the Business Management System through review and audit in accordance with ISO 9001 and TickITplus requirements to maintain best practice;

• report deficiencies and ensure that follow-up corrective and preventative action is taken; and

• provide support and mentoring on business processes to users of the Business Management System.

For this business critical role we are seeking a proactive and reasonably experienced Quality Assurance practitioner/engineer with a firm knowledge of the defence industry, related standards and best practice frameworks. You should have a minimum of 5 years in a quality practitioner role plus two or more years in an IT, software or systems engineering, or product development role.

You will be able to demonstrate strong communication skills and an ability to build relationships and influence others. You will have successfully supported and influenced development and delivery of solutions against complex and challenging requirements.

You will be an honest, highly motivated self-starter with integrity, and a dedicated team member who is customer focused and detail orientated. You should have experience in liaising with and auditing Suppliers involved in systems and software development. You will be expected to travel on company business as part of your duties to UK sites.

The candidate must be eligible for UK NSV Clearances.

Mandatory Skill Requirements:

Hardware – Experience of Systems Engineering processes across the full lifecycle.

Software – Experience of software development processes, tools and various development lifecycle models. Practical experience of Quality Assurance in a software development environment.

Tools & Methodologies – Project Management methodology.

Applications – Proficient in MS Office Professional and MS Visio.

Markets – Defence, IT solutions.

Other – Conversant with requirements of:
•TickITplus or TickIT
•ISO 9001:2008
•NATO AQAP Standards
•MOD Defence Standards
Audit experience.

Excellent Communication Skills, both verbal and written, in the English Language.

Have a Full UK Driving Licence.

Desirable Skill Requirements:

Hardware – Knowledge of production processes and tools. Knowledge of Electrical / Electronic Manufacturing in the Automotive and / or the Defence and Aerospace sectors.

Software – Knowledge of Computer Aided System Engineering (CASE) tools e.g. software development IDEs, Safety & Security Assurance, Programming Languages and verification/validation tools.

& Methodologies – Process Mapping, Risk assessment methodology, PRINCE2 or APM aligned, TickITplus Practitioner, Configuration Management methods and tools.

Applications – Process Mapping Tools, Audit Management Tools (e.g. Q-Pulse).

Markets – Aerospace, Education, Cyber Security, Information Security.

Other – Working with or to:

•UK Export Licensing
•US ITAR & EAR
•CE Marking
•Safety
•ISO 27001:2013
•ISO 20000 or ITIL

Hold or working for professional recognition/membership (e.g. CQI, IET, BCS etc.).

Qualifications: Numerate degree or diploma (ICT or Software/Systems Engineering preferred).